As many are likely aware, Ivanka Trump was named after her mother, Ivana Trump. However, her real name is actually a lot closer to her mother’s name than you might think. In fact, it is exactly her mother’s name: Ivana Trump. As Ivanka revealed in a 2010 tweet, “Ivanka” is a Slavic diminutive of “Ivana,” similar to “Bobby” and “Robert” in English. Ivana, who died in July, was a Czech immigrant who taught (or attempted to teach) her kids how to speak the language. Ivanka has said she speaks Czech “poorly,” though her elder brother, Donald Jr., is fluent.
In her 2017 memoir “Raising Trump,” Ivana revealed that it was she who got to decide the children’s names, not Donald. “This is going to be what it is,” she wrote, per ABC News. “I carry my kid for nine months, and this is what’s going to be … [Donald] wanted to call Ivanka Tiffany, because we got the heir rights for the Trump Tower from Tiffany [& Co].” As followers of the Trumps are surely well aware, Donald eventually won this battle with his next wife, Marla Maples, as they named their only child Tiffany.
Despite Donald’s preference, Ivana insisted on her own name (with Ivanka’s middle name, Marie, even a diminutive of her mother’s middle name, Maria), which came four years after Donald Jr. was named after his father. However, this was also not Donald’s choice.
Nicki
